Lecturer’s Profile
Office Tel: (65) 65124120 Email: kwneo@nafa.edu.sg
Born in 1971, Kent K.W. Neo has been practicing as an architect since late 1990’s after graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture from the National University of Singapore. It was after his working stints in China that he realised the importance of understanding one’s cultural identity amidst the avalanche of international influences.
In 2003, Kent took a break to pursue a Master’s degree in Architectural Design, specialising in digital media at the University of Adelaide. He began experimenting on a series of digital improvisations on Toko Shinoda’s calligraphic grammars. He was also interested in developing a non-Euclidean design language for urban objects.
With the execution of ‘Softstroke Series’ in 2004, Kent documented his entire research on designing non-standard forms in digital media in a paper entitled ‘AARI–Analysis, Abstraction, Re-Invention and Integration’. With a new perspective introduced by Neo in the design methodology of Non-Standard Architectures, he was invited to present his findings at the prestigious DCC conference at MIT in 2004. Based on the AARI methodology, ‘Strokehouse_01′ was completed in 2004. The design was based on a liveable house conceived in a continuous digital brush stroke.
Kent graduated with a Master of Architecture (Digital Media) in 2004 with high distinctions from the University of Adelaide. Upon his return to Singapore, he continued working on the ‘Softstroke Series’ whilst practicing as a design and visualization architect with reknowned architect Mr Tay Kheng Soon from Akitek Tenggara. Kent joint Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts shortly after his first solo exhibition on digital art and architecture in September 2005. Kent is presently a full-time lecturer at Nanyang of Academy of Fine Arts experimenting on design and visualisation methodologies for the diploma, degree and masters programme in various disciplines of Interior Design. In particular, Kent hopes that the prevailing artistic culture in the academy will culminate into a new movement in art, design and architecture in Singapore and the region.
Links:
Online gallery of Calligraphic Architecture
Research on Chinese Historical Architecture in Singapore
Research Interests:
Chinese heritage and identity in Singapore
Metholodogies in digital art and architecture
Database of emergent materials for the built-environment in the tropical regions
Metaphor & Design/Calligraphic Architecture (PHD)
Exhibitions
2nd solo exhibition in mid-2008 - exposition of ‘Strokecity’ font, Visions of Stroke architecture integrated with the Urban fabric, Fabrication of ‘Strokechair’
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